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Revving up to toast iconic MG sports car

First published
in News
by Andrew Ffrench, Reporter covering Didcot and Wallingford. Call me on 01865 425425

AFTER joining Morris Garages in Longwall Street, Oxford, Cecil Kimber was determined to build a car that would hold its own in the world of motor sport and in 1924 the MG was introduced to the motoring public.

The marque has come a long way since those early days, with the famous octagonal emblem recognised and celebrated around the globe.

After several moves in Oxford, due to a growing demand for more cars to be produced, the MG moved to Abingdon and ever since the town has been the home of the MG.

Today the MG Car Club’s headquarters, Kimber House in Cemetery Road, are just a stone’s throw away from the original factory site and the club provides an archive for MG and a home-from-home for the club’s thousands of members living around the globe.

To compliment MG’s impressive racing pedigree, the car club will be taking over Silverstone’s historic Grand Prix circuit for the fifth consecutive year with a packed weekend of motorsport on June 21 and June 22, with MGs of all ages battling it out.

Spokesman for the MG Car Club, George Woodward, said members from around the globe were looking forward to taking part in the celebrations.

MG founder Cecil Kimber

He added: “About 15,000 people will come along for the Silverstone weekend and there are lots of other events too. There are 11,000 MG Car Club members, but not all of them are MG car owners.

“But you don’t have to actually own an MG to be a member of the car club — even if you don’t own an MG you can still live the dream by coming along to the rallies and looking at other people’s cars.

“It costs £50 a year to be a member of the car club and that will get you into lots of rallies and race meetings. “Enthusiasts are coming from all over the world for these 90th celebrations, from places as far away as Australia and America.

“People can call in at the visitor centre and see our displays and MG owners also drop in from time to time.

“There is also a permanent exhibition at Abingdon County Hall Museum and there is currently an MG90-themed exhibition on the top floor.”

Historic MG artefacts have been loaned to the museum to create the special exhibition, which is open to the public until July 20.

At the heart of the permanent display is the last MGB off the production line, which was craned in to the museum through an upstairs window, much to the astonishment of passers-by watching from the town’s Market Place.

Abingdon Museum assistants Shirley Buckle and Tristan Kear take look around the new exhibition

For the official opening of the MG90 special display at the museum in March there was an impressive line-up of MGs from almost every decade on the Market Place, from the 1930s to the present day, in chronological order, including Mike Allison’s 1935 MG NA Magnette.

General manager of the MG Car Club, Julian White, said the exhibition looked “absolutely fantastic”.

Among those who attended the exhibition’s opening were ‘famous’ faces from the former Abingdon factory, including Don Hayter, chief designer of the iconic MGB, Peter Browning, BMC competitions manager responsible for a global racing and rallying team, and Jimmy Cox and Brian Moylan, who both worked on the various record breakers and competition cars.

May 25: 22nd Old Speckled Hen Run Starting at Radley College, just outside Abingdon, and returning for tea and scones after a run.

June 21-22: MG90 at Silverstone. Special Grand Prix for MGs.

July 6: Summer Day Out. Road run starting in Abingdon and finishing at the the working museum, Hollycombe Steam in the Country.

August 3: MGs at Bicester Avenue Garden Centre, showcase your MG.

Fulfilling a driving ambition

RICHARD Martin, above, is Abingdon born and bred, and got a taste for MGs when he was a young schoolboy.

He watched the MGs head off out of town to be exported and hoped one day that he would be able to drive one too.

Fortunately he – and his wife Gill – went on to live the dream.

Father-of-two Mr Martin, 67, who lives with Gill off Drayton Road, Abingdon, is now retired after selling books for Blackwell’s.

He said: “I grew up in Abingdon so I grew up with MGs around me.

“My initial enthusiasm started when I was seven or eight years old. My friend’s dad worked as a security guard at the export gate, roughly where the big Tesco is now off Marcham Road, so we used to go down and watch, although I never got to go inside the factory.

“I got my first MG when I was in my early 20s and had an MG Midget for a while until I acquired a mother-in-law and we didn’t have enough seats.

“My wife has an MG6 and I have an Iris blue 1964 MGB – it was black when it was first built and spent some time in Belfast.”

Mr Martin said he thought the 90th celebrations were a “nice idea” and added that the anniversary had been latched on to by enthusiasts around the world, including South Africa.

“The MG definitely has a certain magnetism,” said Mr Martin, “and it brings people together.

“But it’s the owners that are really special — they are the glue who hold everything together.

Sometimes nostalgia is easier to digest than harsh reality - MG sank with the rest of the former BL/Rover empire, after decades of poor management, highly damaging trade union disputes, and products either unfit for public consumption, or worse! How ironic that where British-owned companies spectacularly failed, we now have successful car production in the UK because of Honda, Nissan, and right here in Oxford the likes of BMW and its worldwide success - the Mini!

Sometimes nostalgia is easier to digest than harsh reality - MG sank with the rest of the former BL/Rover empire, after decades of poor management, highly damaging trade union disputes, and products either unfit for public consumption, or worse! How ironic that where British-owned companies spectacularly failed, we now have successful car production in the UK because of Honda, Nissan, and right here in Oxford the likes of BMW and its worldwide success - the Mini!Myron Blatz

What a shame the people of Abingdon can't simply have pride in a beautiful car and not whinge about Unions. As the child of someone who was deeply affected by the greedy bosses of the 1970s I still feel immensely proud of the MG and I wish we could all feel the same.

What a shame the people of Abingdon can't simply have pride in a beautiful car and not whinge about Unions. As the child of someone who was deeply affected by the greedy bosses of the 1970s I still feel immensely proud of the MG and I wish we could all feel the same.Feelingsmatter

rowdy wrote:
From a body work point of view they were poorly designed in terms of rust and the underseal was the problem , prone to cracking and creating water traps.

Don't understand the minus vote . I know from experience as a panel beater and welder.

[quote][p][bold]rowdy[/bold] wrote:
From a body work point of view they were poorly designed in terms of rust and the underseal was the problem , prone to cracking and creating water traps.[/p][/quote]Don't understand the minus vote . I know from experience as a panel beater and welder.rowdy